Big man SDSU needs may already be on roster

San Diego State might not have to look far to fill the projected void of big men on its basketball roster next season.

How does a 6-foot-11, 300-pound center eminently familiar with the Aztecs program sound?

Brian Carlwell technically is a senior this year, but he confirmed Monday he plans to apply with the NCAA for a medical redshirt from his sophomore year at Illinois that would give him another season of eligibility.

“It’s an option, and it’s good to have options,” said Carlwell, who had four points and five rebounds in 16 key minutes off the bench in Saturday's 63-57 win at UNLV. “Who would want to give this up if they don’t have to?”

Added Coach Steve Fisher: “I haven’t said, ‘100 percent do you want it or 100 percent do you not want it?’ I just told him, ‘I want you have the option to chew on.’ But we’d love to have him back.”

The Aztecs, who remained No. 6 in both major polls Monday, will lose senior starters Malcolm Thomas and Billy White along with reserve forward Medhi Cheriet. Sophomore Kawhi Leonard could enter the NBA draft, and junior forward Tim Shelton has spent most of his career injured.

Carlwell was involved in a life-threatening car accident near of the end of his freshman season at Illinois. He was still suffering from the effects of a major brain trauma as a sophomore when he tore knee ligaments just three games into the season. He never played again for the Illini, transferring to SDSU after the season. He sat out one year per NCAA transfer regulations, then played the last two for the Aztecs.

The general NCAA rule is that, before being sidelined by a serious injury or medical condition, a player can compete in no more than 30 percent of his team's games and not at all in the second half of the season. But there are other factors, and Carlwell would have to return to school for another year; he currently is one class from graduation.

A year ago, Carlwell said he was “90 percent” sure he wasn’t interested in a medical redshirt. Now he puts his chances of returning for a sixth season at closer to “50-50.”

“We’ll see if it’s even available,” Carlwell said. “If it’s available, then we’ll sit down and see if we want to use it.”

Fisher was formally reprimanded by the Mountain West Conference for comments he made Monday morning during the weekly coaches teleconference with media. Before taking questions, Fisher addressed last week’s dismissal of Wyoming coach Heath Schroyer:

“For a coach to be fired with six weeks to go in the season is inexcusable. We talk to our players about commitment, not cutting and running, and yet when things go south a little bit, often our administrators say, ‘What do we do to please our biggest donor or the perception standpoint?’

“This is not the NBA. This is not the NFL. Yes, this has happened before and will happen again. That doesn’t make it right. It’s wrong and should not have been done. It should have been done in a professional manner. A six-week jump on the market is not worth it.”

The MWC deleted his comments from its electronic replay of the conference call, then issued a press release announcing “a public reprimand for his remarks critical of a fellow member institution.”

Fisher is the second SDSU coach chastised by the MWC in the last three months. Aztecs women’s soccer coach Mike Friesen was similarly reprimanded for comments during halftime of a soccer game at BYU.

Fisher-Boylen, Part II

In the handshake line after SDSU’s win at Viejas Arena last week, Utah coach Jim Boylen had an animated discussion with Fisher about why the Aztecs took a shot on their final possession leading by 32. Fisher explained that there was a two-second differential between the game clock and 35-second shot clock, wondering aloud whether Boylen expected his team to take a shot-clock violation.

The conversation continued a few days later when Fisher phoned Boylen.

“We’ve talked about that, we’ve discussed it,” said Boylen, who called timeout with 1.2 seconds left following the perceived slight. “We had a very good, healthy conversation about it.”

What was said?

“I wanted to make sure he understood that I would never, ever do anything to embarrass another team,” Fisher said. “I told him, ‘I think too much of you. I have too much respect for you and your program.’”

Notes

It took him 26 games into his senior season, but D.J. Gay is finally Mountain West Conference player of the week. He shared the honor with BYU’s Jackson Emery. In two SDSU victories, Gay had 35 points, nine assists, six steals and no turnovers while playing 73 of a possible 80 minutes …

Chase Tapley (left ankle) and Tim Shelton (right foot) both practiced Monday, with Tapley participating in all live drills and Shelton in some of them. After an emphatic two-handed dunk, LaBradford Franklin assessed: “CTap’s back.” Neither has played since the first half against TCU on Feb. 5, and Fisher said both continue to be “day-to-day.” ...

Saturday's SDSU-UNLV game drew a 3.5 rating on Channel 4, which is impressive compared to the .2 for Purdue-Illinois or .6 for Kentucky-Vanderbilt on CBS.